Hollie-Anne Brooks dresses for dinner with her mother.

My mother celebrates her birthday tomorrow. I'm clearly not going to reveal my mother's age but I've become more and more fascinated by her astonishing beauty and wonderful skin. As one ages, it's dictated that beauty becomes less of a focus but my mother looks better with age.

We went out for dinner tonight and then to the cinema (we saw 'He's just not that into you' and it is well worth every penny- loved it) and sat sharing ice-cream as we nodded our heads in agreement with the characters on the screen who were all going through some sort of melodramatic but realistic love issue in their lives.

Dinner with my mother is always odd, I always feel the need to impress and to shine despite seeing her everyday. Is it just me or does having dinner with mummy always signal a slight success or fail feeling? My mother is one of my best friends but I'll never stop having a certain driving force behind me to impress her.

I've selected a simple but pretty outfit this evening. I often find that the most simple outfits work best. LBD, black clutch and heels? More than fine! And that's just the look I've gone for here. To me, this Fendi dress is perfection as I adore the shape and the detailing of the belt. I've added a Louboutin clutch, some heels by Giuseppe Zanotti and an Alex Monroe 'love' necklace. Finally, it's colour o'clock with a bright Marc by Marc Jacobs cotton trench. Until tomorrow...



Dinner with my mother. - by hollieanne on Polyvore.com

Hollie-Anne Brooks dresses for skipping her lecture.

Oops-a-daisy, didn't make it into my lecture this evening. I've got to say that I am feeling rather guilty and bad but I think I needed a bit of a calm day today. My mind feels a bit misty and I think I'm overwhelmed by last week, by the events of this week and by my future. I've given myself a bit of a guilty trip over missing a 2.5 hour lecture but I need to remember that, despite the wonderful load of total calm and well being over the past several months, I do indeed suffer from BPD and my mental health is very important.

After a period of around two months of feeling like the BPD has totally gone, it's easy to forget that I ever had it. I've been getting drastically better since October and it may well be safe to say that my BPD is a distant memory after five years of emotional disasters. But I'm careful to look after myself. MYB annoyed me for something? I tell him and we talk it through. Feeling exhausted? I take an early night. Stress with work? I moan to MYB about it and he makes me feel fabulous. With me, it's the small things that make the biggest difference to my mental health and talking things through and putting a rational spin on things is they key to my well being.

Come 3pm, once I made my mind up that I wasn't going to make it tonight, I set myself a mental list of things that would keep me sane and soothe my mind tonight. First off, I sat in the garden in the afternoon sun with a huge mug of herbal tea and my favourite book. Then I worked on an article I started typing up on Thursday evening. I spent the rest of tonight chatting with my mother, thinking about some work plans I have and reading some basic Italian. Mind sorted and it's ready to work come my lecture on Wednesday!

I've dressed for Monday afternoon sun today. I'm a typical Brit and as soon as a tiny bit of sun comes out, I'm in skirts, flats and sunglasses. The tee and heart shaped sunnies seen here are from Topshop, you'll find the skirt is available from A.P.C and the sandals are Giuseppe Zanotti. These pretty boho style earrings are from ASOS and the large cream bag is from the one and only Primark.



Monday sun. - by hollieanne on Polyvore.com

Hollie-Anne Brooks dresses for celebrations.

We all went out for dinner tonight- all five of us in a giggling gang and sitting by the roaring fire as we munched on Italian meats and peppered strawberries. It was a wonderful evening coupled with ridiculous laughter and masses of wine.

Tonight we were celebrating a birthday, a new job and- perhaps as a side note- my philosophy success. In Britain, especially, we're never ones to give praise but it's always nice to raise a glass and celebrate. I'm feeling stupidly low of late but to see others shine lifts my spirits to no end and I'm elated to know such a talented, gorgeous and considerate bunch of people. Thanks, Guys!

Tonight I went for a rather sweet little bohemian look which is very typical of my style; tassels, long necklaces and plaited hair. This pretty dress, which would look gorgeous with a tan, is a cheap but chic little number from Forever21. I've added some Giuseppe Zanotti Leather gladiator sandals, a fringe bag available from Urban Outfitters and a wonderful feather necklace. Finally, pin this corsage into your hair for a sweet little look.


Out for dinner. by hollieanne